Dubai population crosses 3.1 million

Dubai: Dubai’s population has crossed three million, registering a 7.7 per cent growth since last year, Dubai Statistics Center (DSC) revealed on Saturday.

The emirate’s population grew by 232,400 to reach 3,136,400 at the end of the third quarter of 2018, the DSC announced.

“The rise in population reflects Dubai’s growth as a dynamic economic and tourism hub. The population of non-resident workers and temporary residents in Dubai is currently 1,155,000, while the total active daytime population of the emirate is 4,291,400. As much as 37 per cent of Dubai’s active daytime population comes from outside the emirate,” said Arif Al Muhairi, DSC Executive Director.

Al Muhairi added that the DSC adopts international standards and methodologies to monitor Dubai’s rapidly changing population profile.

“Data of both the resident and transient population of Dubai is crucial to identify infrastructural, social and economic needs. It is necessary to provide planners, decision-makers and investors an integrated and holistic picture of the demographic realities and movement of people within the emirate,” he said.

According to the DSC data, the net increase in the number of temporary residents in Dubai in the third quarter of 2018 was 6.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2017.

Meanwhile, the increase in the total resident population was 1.1%. The total active population in the third quarter of 2018 increased by 7.7 per cent from the same period in 2017.

Al Muhairi attributed this growth to the fact that Dubai is an international commercial hub that attracts investors and talent from across the world in a wide diversity of sectors.

He noted that the exceptionally high population growth rate is contrary to trends in any other parts of the world where growth is usually driven by natural population increase (births and deaths). Growth in Dubai’s Emirati population, in contrast, is driven by natural factors.

The latest population data from DSC also shows that males constitute 49.5% of the Emirati population while females account for 50.5% (89 males to 100 females).

In the total resident population of Dubai, males account for 2,195,480 while females account for 940,920. The vastly higher proportion of males in Dubai’s population (233 males to 100 females) is attributed to the fact that a majority of expatriate workers are males who live in Dubai without their families.

The updated DSC population data also shows that the 20-44 age group accounts for 66.45 per cent of the population. Of this, the 30-34 age group accounts for the largest share with 563,525 individuals representing 17.97 per cent of the total, followed by the 25-29 age group with 521,747 individuals representing 16.63 per cent of the total.

The 35-39 age group comes third with 419,642 individuals accounting for 13.38 per cent of the population of the 20-44 age group.

Historical data

In the 19th century, specifically in 1881, the Dubai population was estimated at 12,000. This number has grown 261 times in 137 years to cross three million in 2018.

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